Posts Tagged‘technology’

Games: Cooler than Real Life Just ask any gamer and they’ll be able to tell you: Video games are awesome. As one of my students put it recently: “I can do way cooler stuff in a video game”. I guess he’s got a point. Only in video games can I create a home, life, city, world of my choice without leaving my chair. I can take part in an epic journey, save an entire universe and get away with dangers, risks and choices I’d never live down, or through, in real life. Yet saying gamers play video games because of…

The Tech Tap-Tap I am at the local YMCA waiting to pick my boys up from childcare. I’m several people back in line. As I assess the situation the first thought through my mind is: “This is going to be a couple minutes” The next thought through my mind is: “I wonder if anyone has messaged me today.” My family calls this the smart phone “tap tap”. It’s like your phone just sits on your shoulder and occasionally taps you in the brain as a reminder to come back. It’s easy to use tech as an escape from boredom. It…

Balanced Technology My school does student-led conferences. People-watching at parent conferences is one of my favorite life activities. Of course no one wants that crazy teacher who just stares at you from across the room, so I’ve got to be clever about it. What I’m listening for is how the student communicates, and how the parents react. There are few things better than listening to a student and parent have honest conversations about stuff that matters: Friends, learning, struggles and options for success. At some point in the evening conversations inevitably turn to technology. The usual setup for this conversation…